Maelstrom

I have been known to hide behind the couch so they can't see me from the window. Cowardly, but effective. ;) Then again, JWs and others have a strange tendency to come when I or one of my family members is sick, when the desire to deal with them is even lower than normal.

I didn't discover Avatar until a decade after it had ended, so I was clueless about the Great Shipping Wars until I ventured online, and damn! Talk about scary. I can't imagine how virulent it all must have been while the show was still airing. Really hope that doesn't have to be a factor this time around, nothing like shipping wars to ruin the fun of an online fandom. I'm so wary of this remake, partially because the movie showed how easy it is to spectacularly fail, and partially because the original series itself was so perfect. How can they top it? It's reassuring knowing that Mike and Bryan are involved, but still. Animation really allowed for the wonder of the world to come through, and I'm not sure that live action can capture that, even with the best special effects and top notch actors. And speaking of, the voice actors so perfectly embodied their characters that I don't know how I can accept anyone else. Their work is just iconic. How can I have someone supposed to be Zuko if he doesn't sound like Dante Basco? How can we possibly have a Sokka that doesn't bring Jack DeSena's flair and humor to the dialogue? How can anyone other than Jessie Flower bring Toph's arrogance and vulnerability to life? I guess time will tell, but still. Why remake perfection?

Good analysis, johntfs. Despite his, uh, hot-headed nature, Mick is actually a very pragmatic guy. I always like it when they (both the writers and his teammates) give him opportunities to let that side of him show.

Leverage!! ? I’m a sucker for found family/band of misfit types of stories, and Leverage is one of my all time favorites. It’s a very distinctive show.

HA! I loved the Chronicles of Narnia as a kid, so this should be interesting.

I don't mind the accent - and it does help differentiate her from Amaya - but the sound mix is always so terrible that I have a hard time understanding her sometimes. Then again I have that problem with a lot of other shows as well (*coughElementarycough*), so it's probably my tv. Aww, I kinda like that ep. Backstory on Rip and Mick, perfectly cast young actors, and a top notch British guest star? What's not to love! Also, the fx budget for that final showdown with the assassin lady looks to be bigger than the fx budget for the whole of season three. IIRC Hey Dude was actually about a dude ranch in Arizona, not a camp. I seem to recall watching it obsessively as a kid, lol.

Wow, this was brutal. When this special was first announced I wasn't sure how interesting it would be, but I'm so grateful that Leah and co. have brought attention to the JW. The more awareness brought to any and all damaging cults, the better. I mean, I wonder how many JW clued in and found the strength to leave because of Leah's work on Scientology, and I wonder how many more people will wake up and break free from other cults because of this special? It would be cool if down the line they can do a follow-up episode to this special. As a kid I had a friend who was a Jehovah's Witness. I seem to recall there were some things I found odd about her family, but none of it made enough of an impression to stick with me - probably because I wasn't raised religious, in a heavily Christian area, and I found lots of things odd about all the Christians around me so I guess my kid self figured there wasn't much difference between them all? Anyway, I had no idea the depths of the mental, emotional, and physical abuse that JW suffer. And though I lost touch with her many years ago, this makes me think about what my friend might have gone through, and what ever happened to her. I liked that they covered such range of topics, though I wish they could've spent a bit more time exploring the patriarchal and misogynistic mindset. They covered a lot of ground though - I really had no idea so many awful things went on and were allowed to go on in the JW. The guests were all insightful and well-spoken people, and I'm grateful that they came forward to share their stories, as painful as they were. Apparently Lloyd Evans has a Youtube channel under the name John Cedars, where he talks about the JW and cults. Also, my heart especially broke for the young woman who was molested by her adoptive father - it seemed like every time the camera cut to her she looked so haunted, ready to burst into tears or fall to pieces. No one should have to suffer like that. And if Leah's tv show can help bring suffering like this to an end, then all the power in the world to her. And as a reminder, there's another special set to air this Sunday, November 18! I believe it's called the Emotional Aftermath. Set your DVRs, everyone!

Another fun episode! I actually enjoyed the B story with Mick and Charlie more than the camp story, and wish we could have gotten more. I find it interesting watching Mick be the first to bond with cynical new Legends, as he did with Zari in her first episode. Looking forward to seeing them finally capitalize on Dominic and Maisie’s chemistry whether or not ends up being romantic or platonic. I have to say by the end of the ep I only see Charlie when I watch her now, and have stopped thinking of her as just an Amaya lookalike. Love her new punk look. Camp was fun, and the casting of Young Sara and Young Ava was spot on. I’m impressed by Sara’s braids and Ava’s scrunchie. I seriously wanted to kick Constantine for being mean to Ray (it’s like being mean to a puppy!) but he redeemed himself a bit by giving some of his own life force to save the last kid. And I appreciated that Charlie’s help was instrumental in stopping the monster instead of just Constantine pulling a deus ex magica. Poor Nora, being stuck as eye candy at a Ren Faire is probably a level of hell just as awful as being host to Mallus. Can’t wait to see where her story goes from here - this show does a good growth/redemption arc so it should be fun.

Four months without my Legends?! Beebo help me! That really sucks. :(

That sounds right, thanks! Nah, here in northern Arizona they don't announce it, and just wait until everyone leaves on their own ;)

I'm late to the party so I'll just echo what everyone else has said - loved the return of the Good Place, seeing the reboot where Chidi and Eleanor fell in love, the lizard, the centaur Tahaniya, the return of the Vicki and the demons*, and most of all the scenes between Eleanor and Michael. As you've all said, the entire cast is pitch-perfect and work so well with each other, but the Michael/Eleanor dynamic is really something special. Love this show!! *That'd be a good name for a band I've lived in Arizona for 24 years and can honestly say I've never been kicked out of a public place due to a porn film shoot - then again, I don't live in Phoenix. Thankfully. Thank you!! I noticed the streak of light but was always watching the lizard, so I never caught what the light was. Guess I'll have to rewatch the ep again, darn. This show is amazing. Wasn't there an animated kids' movie some years back about a dancing penguin? Maybe Blake tortured Jason by not dancing. SAME! The burned, hairless look was horrendous enough but when she kept spitting her teeth out it was the end of me. *shudders* Me too. I would've just had to take both kittens with me.

I lost the last half of this ep to breaking news coverage, so I missed seeing Ben finally shut Stefan's big yap, dammit! And I can't find a clip of it anywhere either. Hmph. The news coverage did thoughtfully come back just in time for the clip of Frances Reid, which was generous of them but also tremendously confusing for me until I saw the Happy Anniversary screen. Also, Chad, you are the world's biggest jackass. "Ben, I still think you're a monster! Now take this loaded gun. Oh just kidding, I was just making sure you're as reformed as you say you are." Hey, dumbshit, you do realize if Ben was still all murdery he would've shot you in the face with that gun, right? Also, should you have offered alcohol to the man whose sanity supposedly hangs on a boatload of prescription meds? Food for thought. ETA - found a clip, and it was awesome! And, while I don't advocate for Ben going back to the dark side, I would love if could we have him just jump out of the shadows and do takedowns on all of the annoying windbags in Salem. That would improve the show drastically IMO.

I will happily tell anyone who asks that they should watch LoT! It's a lot of fun, doesn't take itself too seriously at all, and does some really good character work. Honestly, it's currently one of only two shows (along with The Good Place) that I look forward to every week and have complete faith in the writers to give me a good story. I can PM you with more info (so I don't completely derail this thread!) or you can swing on by the LoT forums and have a look around. We're a pretty friendly bunch there!

I'm with you, Esmeralda, I don't like horror movies one bit. I don't mind spooky and supernatural, but I can't handle gory and scary at all. And unfortunately all SFF shows in recent years have leaned more and more toward gross and gory as far as their villains and general aesthetic go. And the villains in this reboot have definitely followed that trend. It's a shame, IMO. If I wanted to watch creepy disturbing horror, I'd watch American Horror Story, thank you very much. The premise of Charmed - three sister witches growing as women and witches - has more than enough fodder for multiple versions, IMO. And since the original had so much unfulfilled potential (again, IMO) I maintain that getting a version that does right by its concept would be an exciting thing. Unfortunately, this is not that version. When the male whitelighter is the least unlikeable and least stupid character on the show, there's something wrong. Don't get me wrong, I liked Leo just fine (even though he never stood up for himself to Piper) but he was never the only semi-watchable thing in the original. It'd be bad enough to just have the leads making stupid choices and being so shortsighted and self-centered about everything (let's be honest, none of that was unheard of in the original either) but that combined with the show jumping into the very thick of its mythos instead of easing into it just makes for a very frustrating hour of tv to get through every week. And I say life's too short for bad tv shows. Not to mention that so much of the reboot just feels like regurgitated bits from other shows - a dash of Sleepy Hollow, a healthy portion of Supernatural, just a pinch of Grimm, etc etc. And on Legends of Tomorrow this season, magic is playing a big part in their storylines, and they're doing it so much better than nuCharmed. I was willing to give the reboot a LOT of leeway, but apparently it needs more than I can give.

This show continues to be more brilliantly absurd every week, and I love it. Brandon Routh really stole the show tonight. As much as I love our sweet goofy Ray, he did a wonderful job showing Ray(ge)’s conflicted feelings. It seems like sometimes, of all the characters, Ray most easily gets lost in the shuffle, but this ep was a really great showcase for him and a promising start to his season arc. Also, he was downright menacing when Charlie stole the Atom suit. I liked that they tied in mentions of Nora and Amaya so seamlessly, none of the moral quandaries that came up felt forced or contrived at all. This is pretty close to how I suspected they’d bring back Maisie, and it will be very interesting to watch how the Legends handle having Amaya’s face back onboard. I got a kick watching the little demon plant running away from the Time Bros, and then the next scene showing no more plant but a metric ton of green goo everywhere. Also, how is it Gary hasn’t already managed to utterly destroy the Time Bureau, let alone all of existence? No wonder Ava is always so frustrated. Constantine, your dad sounds like a bastard but it doesn’t mean you get to be a bastard to everyone else. Also, I need Mick to get him back for the shoe fire incident. I have no interest in watching Constantine get the better of my Legends every week. Did we hear Gideon at all in this? Love Zari’s new bracelet, very stylish. And on a completely shallow note, the punk hair looked really good on Brandon. Can we keep it please? Mick could still call him Haircut, even.

Dear Show, I know we haven’t known each other all that long, but I just don’t think it’s working out. It’s not you, it’s me - I was expecting you to be entertaining. I’m sorry it has to end like this, but I hope we can still stay friends. But don’t call me, I’ll call you. Sincerely, Maelstrom

Love how the cast always seems to be having so much fun on set. And I'm still far from sold on Constantine, but Matt Ryan looks like a lot of fun and a good sport! ETA - watched the video at the sneak peak link in Starfish35's above post, and don't worry Gary, I appreciated your Clue joke! (Clue FTW, always)

Aha, that makes sense! Thanks very much SeanC :)

That's interesting. Anyone more knowledgable about skating mind helping me understand why that would be? I love watching figure skating but know very little about the technical ins and outs of it.

I actually assumed Nate steeled up holding Ray because Ray is a big guy and can’t exactly be a featherweight - and since I’m willing to bet that Nate spends more time doing his hair than lifting weights, he probably needed his steel powers to keep from dropping Ray on his butt. But you never know with this show!

I could've sworn I heard awhile back that Lani was leaving the show? I could well be wrong, of course, and I'm too lazy to go back through this thread and see if I imagined the news. Damn this six month filming gap - it takes so long for things to show up onscreen that it's not really worth bothering to spoil myself, since I forget what I've read by the time it's supposed to happen!

I still need to catch up on today's episode, but here are a few thoughts for the rest of this week... Despite my many years of soap viewing I've never actually watched KL in anything before, but I'm actually really liking him as Rex (the physical and vocal similarities between he and EM is downright uncanny). I'm slightly less sold on LG as Sarah, firstly because she does look too young for the part (thanks for the history lesson on her actual age, Apprentice79, I always appreciate input from longtime viewers like yourself!) and also because Melissa Archer would've been a perfect choice for Sarah. But mostly it's because I found that LG's performance on B&B ranged wildly, from impressive to painfully cringey, so I'm a little wary to see which way things go here. Also, not a fan of her bangs. Or bangs in general. I enjoyed the five minutes of Brady being an actual human being, and EM really sold his guilt and heartache. I just wish it could last without TIIC having him chase after the first woman he sees in the street until he turns into a ragey caveman again. Sigh. Also, I'm sorry to see KdP gone for the time being because however much they mess up Eve, I do love Kassie. So, Eric has officially taken over Nicole's mantle of Salem Town Crier? Hope he's well-hydrated and checks in regularly with an optometrist. Though even with the sads he's still super hot. I really liked the scene of Ben's story about Clyde - I thought RSW did an excellent job playing Ben's emotional turmoil, and even Ciara (I can't remember the actress's name) turned in a solid performance. And that moment when his expression shifted as he realized the impact his ungiven gift had on his own life really sold it. The scenes of Hattie and Bonnie getting drunk and John begging for Roman's help were a lot of fun, too - you could see the actors' own enjoyment coming through, and that always adds something IMO. The Halloween episode was fun enough, with some good one-liners that many of you have already shared (like Abigail thinking she was her grandmother and best friend at the same time, and telling Princess Gina to take Stefan off her hands). I liked Hattie's dismay at the thought of The Good Place being cancelled - I'm with you, Hattie! FF's face work has left her not only able to actually emote (hence the Dialed!To!Eleven! shouted delivery of her lines, I guess) but also left her mouth in a permanent sour lemon grimace. Can she go away now, please, with or without the baby? Don't make me listen to her whine and moan about keeping a secret kid away from Rex, not again!! Chloe Lane, PI. Well, everyone should have at least one turn with the Salem Brain, right? I mean, if Claire can do it, so should Chloe. Yeah, I actually felt really bad for Susan the way they all but made fun of her to her face and then burst out laughing after she left the room. Sure Susan's pretty far out there, but have a little compassion and human decency, people! Especially coming from the "morally pure" Hortons and Bradys. Sheesh. This town is full of sanctimonious hypocrites.

I wondered about that deduction too, I believe it was for not ending with the music/the program running a few seconds long. In other words, something totally stupid considering what a stunning program it was.

Even if the writers aren't mythology nerds (like I am) the Aswang turned up on an episode of Grimm several years ago. And it was creepy as hell.

I can see Ray being Hufflepuff, too. Zari would be Ravenclaw, and Sara too... unless she'd be Gryffindor along with Nate? Constantine would probably be Slytherin - or expelled, lol.